DIY Projects

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Where am I?

I know it has been awhile, but welcome to August and the first weeks on a college campus. I have not really had time to make crafts let alone write about them. I do apologize up front for the length, but I have a lot to say today.

These past few weeks, I have been submerged even farther into military life. Sometimes it is hard understanding that world when I am here in Iowa around no one in the service. But, over Labor Day, I was well educated on various factors of military living.

Tom was scheduled to deploy the first week of September, so I took vacation for a week to spend some much needed quality time with him, but also to learn how to navigate a base. Once you pass the highly decorated fences and ledges of Gate 4, a whole new world emerges. At first being on base is really intimidating. There are people with guns all around; helicopters and tanks are just hanging out as decoration. I mean, we are trained our whole lives to think that when we see people in military uniforms or tanks, there must be trouble. So my first thought is don’t take my hands of the steering wheel, drive the speed limit, and try not to attract any attention. So needless to say, I am freaking myself out as I am trying to take in the first few yards of my “new home”. Then I see a Bank of America, then the Craft building (Yes, calming down but then freaking out in excitement), then a Burger King, wait there are stop signs and street signs? What is this place?

The farther away that you get from any gate, the more normal and even tranquil base is. (Ok, well except the training areas and places that they store all the mobile units-then you remember it’s a base.) It is a city inside very secure and very pretty walls. Since Tom worked a few hours every day while we were there, Grace and I had a little bit of time every morning to explore our neighborhood, of which there are hundreds.

After reflecting on everything, and obviously feeling much more comfortable, I thought, this place is like Pleasantville– the movie with Tobey McGuire and Reese Witherspoon where they go to the idyllic town through a TV. Everything on the surface seems so perfect; people always friendly, everything you need is right there. If you have seen the movie, I need you to know that I am not comparing military bases to the rest of the plot of that movie, just the opening scenes of the freakishly friendly small town atmosphere.

I tried explaining this to Tom, and he argued at first saying, well we all have guns so it’s nothing like it. Then I took him on a walk with me, and he then understood. Everyone you meet says hi and wants to have a conversation. Doors wide open and kids playing in the street with no supervision (Coming from a big city, this just blew my mind.) Perfectly tailored lawns-mostly because the Army hires someone to do it. I mean everything just seems perfect. There are playgrounds around every corner in the neighborhoods. And they all have swings so they are obviously the best play grounds! And to top things off, at the top of our street there is a gas station (Shoppette) that, wait for it, sells ICEES! I mean what could be more perfect? I really don’t know how it could get better than a Cherry ICEE machine being within walking distance of my house.

All week, I felt like I was in a trance. It was very odd but awesome at the same time. Then having my first PX and Shoppette experiences rocked my world with the prices. Being a penny pincher, I am pretty sure my jaw never left the floor while we were shopping for basic necessities. The Army really tries to take care of you.

And did I mention there is a CRAFT building? Yes, that’s right, just play into my blog. They have classes for pottery and stained class and provide materials for projects for a small fee. They don’t have everything that a Hobby Lobby would, but it is a great work space for bigger projects such as furniture building that most families on base don’t necessarily have. What a wonderful world.

So what I am saying, is that if I didn’t want to, I would never have to leave the tall guarded gates of Ft. Campbell. They have anything and everything I would ever need. (Even a vet for Grace.) It was very comforting becoming more familiar with things.

And my family made me feel like I was really “in” when they called because they had gotten lost on base. “Oh yes, welcome to Pleasantville-ugh I mean Ft. Campbell. I will lead the way.” Don’t worry fam, I, too, was once nervous about my presence on the base, I remember the white knuckles. But it becomes old habit after a few times in and out of the gates to whip out that ID and flash a smile to the MPs. Oh and it made it more enjoyable when you have a dog in the back who apparently is not fond of MPs and decides this is when she will find her voice. (Grace, who never usually does more than a whimper, growled or barked at the MPs every time we went through the gates. Hilarious.)

My experience on base was great. I feel good about the impending move, and seeing our place really calmed a lot of fears. We are so well taken care of by the Army.

It was also nice to meet other soldiers, and a little scary. And by scary I mean, imagine lots of people like Tom. Crazy huh? One of his besties, I swear they came out of the womb together. They talk alike and even have similar contingency plans for when the zombies attack. (You think I am kidding, but we seriously have had a conversation about how to get a pulley system into our 2 story apartment so we can get food in without getting attacked. You learn to just go with it and enjoy the imagination, ugh I mean preparedness.) Anyway, it was comforting to finally meet people that he will be with on his deployment as well as those that will be close at home.

I also was able to meet significant others, which is also nice to hear my own thoughts being said from others. We had a nice BBQ at Tom’s buddy’s where we sat around a bon-fire and chatted away. Actually meeting these women gave me a little more confidence in what we are doing for our men and some solace that I am not alone in this experience. Although we didn’t get to know each other well, I truly enjoyed being able to meet all these people. Also another effect of Pleasantville: Base Edition, I gave Martin THREE hugs over the course of the week. Anyone who knows me, understands I don’t do physical touching. So yes, I was entranced by the military giddyness of wanting to be friends with everyone I encounter. Meeting these people really deepens the experience and makes it more real. Sometimes I feel like this is all a dream and Tom will be here next to me when I wake up.

Well that will not happen for another 9 months now. Tom officially left for deployment last week, and he is slowly making his way to his base overseas. There were a lot of emotions throughout the week. I freaked out with dread one night, the next I was beaming with pride. I kind of ran the gamete of emotions last week to be honest. I like being in control, and this is not easy for me to just go with the flow. There were parts of me that wanted to pack myself and Grace into his giant extra duffel bag because I was so scared I would never see him again. Then I would snap back into reality thinking, “1 out of 250,000 is killed. And that won’t be Tom.” Then I would think “what if he is that one?” This back and forth was my life last week. Exhausted. Then an overwhelming calm came over me once I accepted that he was gone.

The comfort though is that Tom and I have been able to talk pretty regularly through Facebook since he left. It’s not the best, but we have become experts in long distance communication. Well at least for us, we are. We understand what each other needs and when we need to be the strong one even if we aren’t there in person to do it. Yea, we are pretty awesome. Feel free to be jealous.

This was tested even more so today when I found out that after years of battling cancer and just watching his wife die a couple months ago, my grandpa passed away. You think that you can stay on top, but then you crest that hill and roller coaster plummets. It is moments like these that are the absolute hardest to be away from your “forever person.” Yea it is hard not having him here for the every day things, but when your world is shook to the core, you look for some stability. And for me that has been my relationship with Tom. He has always been able to ground me and be a rock for me. And I don’t write this to gain sympathy. My grandpa lived a full and wonderful life, and I was able to spend a lot of time with my grandparents while in grad school since they lived 20 minutes away. I was able to say goodbye without regrets and let them know how much they meant to me. And I also don’t regret supporting Tom with his dream to be in the Army. The distance is just a part of this experience that we have to accept. I tell my story about these challenges so that you don’t take your “forever person” for granted. Don’t waste the time you are lucky to have with them and find ways to still support each other when you are apart. Love so hard that they can still feel it when you aren’t around. These are lessons I have both from my Grandparents and Tom. I can always trust in that love to motivate me through.

As I mentioned, hugs give me the hebeegeebees, but I would give anything for Tom to be here to give me one now. It’s that safety net to make you feel better in any situation. Having him gone makes it hard to recover from the bad or to rejoice the good things. And yea, I have family and friends that I can lean on and share my stories with, which I have been so thankful for during this journey. Their continued support and love do help tremendously, but it is not Tom. It is simple as that. Sometimes I just want to call him up and say “I had this great conversation with a student, and I feel awesome. Love you, bye.” He lets me dork out about my work and celebrates with me. His comments of support lift me up in ways that aren’t describable. Who doesn’t love a good Jerry McGuire quote? “You {Tom} completes me.” So right now it is like I’m trying to figure out the puzzle without the edge pieces there. He knows me inside and out, and unfortunately someone else cannot take that place. Go figure-Tom is one of a kind. You have to just keep trucking on and again have faith in the love. And so I become really skilled at distracting myself and finding ways to channel that energy else where and save our news for a later day.

Hence the crafting distraction.

I have been wanting to do this particular item for a long time. Unfortunately, I was in such a hurry to work on this craft since my creative drought over the last month, I did not take before and after pictures.

Here are the steps of this craft.

1. Supplies: cookie sheet, spray paint, puffy paint, scrabble letters, magnets, glue gun, command strips. The flowers were given to me by my sister in law, so felt if you want to make those.

2. Spray paint the cookie sheet. This took a lot of coats to get it to the desired color. And be careful if you do spray paint. If you spray to much at one time, it will drip to the center. Also let it dry between each coat. I was not patient at first and tried layering on the paint which led to messiness, which led to me slowing down and adding a lot more coats.

3. I added the puff paint as an added pop.

4. I hot glued the flowers to the top for some more flare. I have been holding on to these for months trying to find the perfect project for them, and I really like how it turned out.

5. I put command strip hooks on the back to hang them up.

6. I put magnets on the back of each letter. You can buy magnet strip tape which may be cheaper than discs. I will probably have to go back and hot glue the magnets to the letter because the stickyness isn’t as great from the magnet tape.

7. Hang it up and make words.

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I hope you enjoyed my stories for today and hopefully my staff will enjoy this craft at the front desk!

Another friendly reminder:  Love unforgettably.

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There is no “I” in Team

The closer that we get to deployment day, the more I realize that my independence is going to be challenged. I am used to doing things on my own. I am very self-motivated, and usually don’t need others to push me through life’s obstacles. That is not to say that I don’t know how to work in a team (this is pretty much my daily life at work), but when it comes to personal issues I have always been good at managing things on my own. At least, I think I am- says the independent woman in me.

Well, when you become an Army wife, you instantly become part of a network of people that is unlike any other. It is a place where you attend things because that is part of your duty as a wife. (The feminist in me just starts screaming…) You don’t really “deal” with life on your own. This was super hard for me to adjust to. Most of you know Tom, and know that he has a strong personality, but never is he really able to tell me what to do. Nor am I able to really tell him what to do. We work things out together and compromise. We just do what we need to do to be awesome, simple as that. So naturally, being “told” that these “wife” meetings are supposed to be my job kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Don’t get me wrong, I want to be there to support my husband just as he has supported me through my work. Needless to say, getting used to being the “dutiful” wife has been an adjustment. And maybe I am having a harder time with it because I still have yet to move into the world of an army base where this is just every day life. I am sure that I will be so grateful and relieved when I actually do move for this support network to be in place. And what I am saying may sound like I am unhappy with this group, which is not the case. I do appreciate being kept in the loop since Tom’s world is about to be turned upside down. And these women know the best way to be of support not only to our partners but also to each other. I am just not used to my husband defining who I am, and this is a huge adjustment for me to make. I mean my life’s work is all about respecting everyone’s individuality and being your own person. So when I hear these messages from the Army like “Oh your wife could move here with you to work at the pool” you can see how there could be some frustration and some “You don’t know me!” attitude going through my head.

God knows me best though, for He keeps having the Army throw little life lessons at me to get out of my stubborn independent ways. For example, last week I received an email from Tom’s Platoon Sgt’s wife. She was letting me know that any time that I am not at my permanent address that they have on file that I need to make her aware of those trips. At first I was really frustrated because I felt like part of my personal freedom was taken away, and I was back under my parent’s house/rules. I mean really? I am 27, and I have to report when I go on a trip with an address, time, and all other specific details? However, the more I thought about this network and their role, the more I understood the importance of these details. And then the somberness of it hit me. They will need to be able to notify me if something happens to my husband. Bam. Nothing like doom to bring you down a peg. So it is moments like these that bring me back to reality that I am not in this deployment by myself, no matter how much I try to handle it on my own. And ultimately, it’s not about me. Life lesson…done.

And in the spirit of team, student staff training began this week, which brought on all kinds of team goodness. Yes, we did the human knot and answered personal questions off a ball. All week, I have been preaching to my staff about how they are not alone and that the team is their biggest asset, and many other teamy one liners like that. ( I should really listen to my own advise huh?)

I will say that this is one team that I have no problem utilizing to the full extent. I have a great group of colleagues that I know that I can call for help at any time. I also am fortunate to work with some of the best students on campus. I am biased I know, but they are a pretty cool crew. These are the people that I know will keep me sane and grounded in the upcoming months. Although Tom and I are about to go through the toughest part of our relationship, I know that this team I have here at Iowa State are a wonderful group of people that I can lean on at anytime. I do feel truly blessed to know that I have that support here.
And fortunately, ISU allows for my creative side to come out! I was able to do several “crafts” this week.

One is pretty simple. I miss doing bulletin boards, but I never have time to do them like I did when I was a student. So I carved out some time this summer to make sure I was able to do our opening staff board. Like I said, it is simple, but it was fun to make! And there is a little satisfaction and a “Yes!” cheer going through my head when I see people stopping to read what I put up.

The second project was our end of training event, and by far the most exciting craft to date! It took a little effort from the entire staff, which makes it better than anything I could have made on my own. Plus it was a really fun way to get re-energized and not so bummed after stuffing opening packets for what seemed like a century.

So we started off with a drop cloth from Lowe’s and some duct tape for our words.

My partner at work had some spare syringes from his numerous medical trips which happen to be great paint throwers. We gave one to each staff member and lined the outside of the cloth with bowls of paint. Then you just let them go at it until all the paint is gone.

We let it dry for a couple of days. My advice if you try to do this is to not let it completely dry before you take of the tape. Our paint became crunchy and some was pulled off with the tape, which we don’t think would happen if the paint was still semi-damp.

I think it looks awesome! As my husband put it, this would have been cliche to do in the 90s but since we are doing it in 2012 we are doing a cool throwback.

So now this is a great memento that we have at the desk that helps create a welcoming atmosphere to all of our residents and guests.

And it was a great TEAM effort!

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Moving In

Today marks the first day that some students can start officially moving into my building. Goodbye quiet and hello lots of excitement! I love this time of year with the anticipation of all the newness. It’s kind of like New Year’s for academics. It is like a fresh pallet. (Like the craft reference?) Staff training starts soon too, which is always a week full of brainstorming and awesome energy. You always hope that each year is going to be bigger and better than the last. Anyway, so the last couple days have been a fury of keys and killing trees to prepare staff binders, and just trying to get everything ready to open our buildings.

And appropriately, it is also move in day for Tom. He got the keys to our new home today. Unfortunately, because of our long distance, I cannot be there for that awesome moment of getting the keys to your first home that you get together. (Yes we lived here in Iowa together, but I lived here a year before Tom moved in with me.) This home in KY is the first place that is both of ours from the get go. So I have been getting the play by play of what each room looks like until he can get pictures. It kind of stinks to have your first impression over the phone, instead of in person. But we knew going into this, that we would both miss big moments in each other’s lives. Every day, we both make comments about wishing we could see what the other is talking about. Although, I believe I have the better deal because I get to be with our sweet dog Grace all the time! It is one of the sacrifices that the military forces us to make. So it really teaches us to make every moment count when we are together. Life is more than just the big stuff, but it still doesn’t make missing those things easy. We have a lot to be thankful for, so we just try to focus on that instead of all the stuff that we are missing. So all you couples and families together all the time, that comment that annoyed you or that chore you asked them to do that inevitably, is it really that big of a deal?  I say this to myself too, because don’t get me wrong I still complain. We still piss each other off at times, but as I reflect, there is no reason to harbor the feelings. Move past it and start enjoying each other again.

PS. I did tell Tom that he isn’t allowed to buy furniture without me. I have been dreaming about that probably as long as I did for my wedding! Fortunately, I have a husband who loves camping, and he is turning the next month into a big camping trip and living simple.  And luckily, he wont have to live in the empty home for long with his upcoming “work trip.” I am sure he is also using this as an excuse to be show himself how manly he can be. Just ask him about how he cut his watermelon last week.

So on to the crafts! For today’s post, I will include pictures of things that I finished up last week.

The first is a blanket that I made for a few friends of ours that recently moved into a new home. It was a “housewarming-thanks for being awesome couple friends” gift. And it was a nice excuse to try a new crochet stitch. I have never made bubbles before, so that was fun teaching myself. You can’t see them in the picture, but in person they add a really cool affect to it. It took me about a month to complete. (I will also say that I was working on two other blankets at the time as well that I haven’t finished yet.) I am pretty pleased with how this one turned out! And I am glad to hear the Garretts like it too.

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The next is my new bathroom art. I was originally going to use sticker letters and just peel them off after the paint dried, but I could not find any that were big enough that I liked. So I stenciled all the letters after the base coat dried. So it took me a little longer than I had planned. I then used an old toliet paper roll to make the bubbles. Great circles, just dip the ends in paint, and viola! It was a fun afternoon while I watched the Olympics. And I have to say, it makes me smile every time I’m using the potty.

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So since I started this canvas before I had decided to blog, it had not donned on me to do a prep picture. In the future I will try to do the progress pictures from start to finish.

Well that is it for today. I am hooked on the Olympics right now! Go USA!

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The back story…

So I am new to blogging, so excuse the randomness that you are about to read.

So here is a little history of how I got here. My husband, Tom and I have been married for a little over a year. We love to make things for our apartment. All of our hanging decor in our apartment is either made by us or by a family member.

I have always been a crafty. My parents definitely made art something that was a focal point for us as kids. After hearing about artsy things for so long and seeing my dad crochet, my step-mom make an absolutely beautiful home (especially at Christmas) and my mom make whatever nifty thing she did for the school craft shows, you just want to emulate that. And it just sticks. For example, I use to have a lanyard business when I was in elementary school. I never made any money, but I made scads of plastic-beaded lanyards for friends and family, whether they wanted them or not. So that should give you some idea that I love making things with my hands and definitely use it as a stress relief.

My husband is part of the 101st Airborne unit based out of Fort Campbell, KY. He is an infantryman. I am so proud of him, and I am so glad that he is happy with his career after so many hardships in that area. Yay for the economy! We are currently doing the long distance thing since he just moved there after basic, and I still have my job with Iowa State University. I will be staying in Iowa for the time being because come September, Tom will be heading overseas for his first deployment. It’s hard justifying leaving a job I love for an empty home in a strange place.

This is something that we knew was coming eventually, however, neither of us were quite ready for it to happen in September. So what is the first thing I did when I found out that my husband would really be at war in a little over a month? I made door decs for my staff. It is melted crayons on poster board with foam sticker letters.

For those of you not familiar with my job, I am a Hall Director for Iowa State University. I oversee a residential building of 1300 students and supervise a staff of 12 community advisers (or RAs). So there are lots of opportunities for crafts with door decs, bulletin boards, and office organization, and other random things.

Obviously, these door decs are much more elaborate than most. They took me about 3 hours to do just 16 different names. Craziness, I know. But, I felt so accomplished!

Right now Tom is in training, so every day I get to hear how he is training to keep himself and his team alive. Really awesome as a wife right?

And to pile on to this stress, there is also a lot of other random stressors going on with work (Did you know that August is a big month for colleges?) and with some family things. So I started thinking about how I am going to get through the next 10 months of being without the one person who always manages to calm me down. CRAFTS!

I started scouring Pinterest, and my craft board grew and grew. I even made a list of the crafts I wanted to do and in what order. And then came the idea of crafting my way through his deployment. Genius.

I happened to share this idea with some friends, and they all immediately suggested to blog my creation adventures. So here we are.

I do not aim to be funny, inspirational, or really anything, although I hope you all enjoy seeing what I am able to come up with! This will just be an outlet to share my goodies!

I have not set up that I will do a project a week or anything structured like that. That seems a little too much pressure knowing my schedule, and I don’t want this to become a chore. Again, this is supposed to be my stress-relief. My projects will be things that I do for work, gifts for others, and just personal satisfaction. I welcome ideas and suggestions!

So let’s see how this goes…Enjoy!